Stahl: Rights Violated

Steadman Stahl, a Broward County lawyer who faces charges that he conspired to help an accused smuggler hide the assets of a $700 million drug ring, has asked that the charges be dropped.

In court documents filed in U.S. District Court this week, Stahl says his constitutional rights were violated during the grand jury investigation of drug suspect Raymond ``Little Ray`` Thompson.

During the 18-month inquiry into a Fort Lauderdale-based marijuana-smuggling ring, Stahl said he was forced to supply the grand jury with certain records that violated his constitutional rights against self-incrimination.

The records Stahl supplied, according to the indictment, show an attempt to conceal the ownership of a marina, Amity Yacht Center in Fort Lauderdale, where the smuggling ring was based. The marina belonged to Thompson, according to the indictment.

U.S. District Judge Lenore Nesbitt, who scheduled the trial in the case to begin Aug. 5, has given prosecutors until May 13 to reply to Stahl.